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Imra Ardeen (Saturn Girl)

In the meanwhile we also have our tv series to take care of, so this week (and the next ones) will be pretty cramped. In this week’s episode of Supergirl a lot of things happened: in Wake Up, in fact, Mon-El comes back to Earth on some spaceship, but he acts weird. We learn he comes from the future, and that he also has a wife… Imra Ardeen, portrayed by Amy Jackson. Imra comes from the moon Titan, and her name is definitely not an unknown one, as she’s the leader of a popular team of superheroes from the future that also Mon-El is part of in the comics. Imra already appeared in Smallville, this time with her alias Saturn Girl, portrayed by Alexz Johnson: she comes back in time with her teammates Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad to help Clark in dealing with Brainiac, who’s successfully possessing Chloe Sullivan. Now, let’s take a look at the first female character ever to be portrayed as the leader of her team.

Imra Ardeen was born on Titan, a moon of Saturn, , in the XXX Century, and she was member of a race of powerful telepaths. Since she was little more than a kid it was apparent that her natural abilities surpassed by far the average ones of her people, and she felt the commitment to do something good with her powers. Growing up, she became more and more convinced to join the Science Police, the military branch of the United Planets. She was admitted to the academy as a teenager, and she left her homeplanet to start the job of her dreams… but destiny wanted something different for her, apparently. On the cargo bringing her to Earth, Imra heard with her telepathy the thoughts of someone who was planning to assassinate one of the passengers, billionaire R. J. Brande. Wanting to stop the murderer, Imra managed to obtain the help of two other young men on the cargo, Garth Ranzz, from Winath, and Rokk Krinn, from Braal: together, the trio managed to stop the assassination, thus earning Brande’s gratitude. The billionaire, in fact, was so impressed by the teenagers’ work that he recognized in them heroes able to take up the legacy of long lost legends like Superman, and prompted them to officially take the mantle of superheroes. Intrigued, the three of them accepted the offer, and naming themselves, respectively, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy, they founded the Legion of Superheroes, starting to operate anywhere in the galaxy, and looking for new recruits to join them in patrolling the system. Many young heroes from all corners of the universe joined them, including Brainiac 5, who opened to them the possibilities of time travel: now, they could recruit heroes also from other eras.

While still under the unofficial guidance of Cosmic Boy, the team traveled back to the XX Century, where they recruited a young Superman. They also saved him from the Legion of Super-Villains, and Imra even offered her own life in exchange of Superboy‘s one, even if she was eventually saved by Saturn Queen. Messing with time, however, also brought some unwanted knowledge: she learnt that a member of the still growing Legion was fated to die in 2975, the same year the team had organized elections to decide their leader. Imra used her telepathy to mind-control all the others and force them to elect her, so that, when the time came and Zarya the Conqueror attacked, she ordered everybody to stand down, prohibiting them to use their powers, and offering herself as a sacrifice. Garth, however, disobeyed her: in love with her since the first moment he saw her, he offered his own life in her place, and turned out to be the Legionnaire destined to die. Distraught by her friend’s death, Saturn Girl finally realized that she reciprocated his feelings, and she became obsessed with bringing him back. Saturn Girl eventually found a way to resurrect Lightning Lad, but this required a life for a life… and, once again, she was ready to sacrifice herself to bring Lightning Lad back. Just before she could make the ultimate sacrifice, however, Saturn Girl was knocked out by Proty, a shape-shifting member of the Legion companion to Chameleon Boy, who was deeply attached to her. Proty transformed into Imra, and died in her place. Lightning Lad came back, and he declared his love to Saturn Girl, who did the same: the two became a couple, but Imra still had to face her fellow Legionnaires, who now knew she had manipulated them in electing her. She was surprised, however, in seeing that they actually valued her leadership, and that they were grateful for her attempt to save them all: they confirmed her as the team’s leader, and they even re-elected her for a second term. Many challenges were awaiting the heroine, but first she had to plan her long-awaited marriage with Garth…

Imra Ardeen is a heroic and selfless girl, a committed heroine who feels the responsibility coming from her abilities, and who’s always ready to sacrifice herself for others (even too much…). As Saturn Girl, her natural abilities grant her telepathy, which she mastered to the point of being at the same level of Martian Manhunter: she can read and communicate thoughts, she can mind-control other people, she can communicate telepathically even from a dimension to another, and she can even project strong mind-blasts; the Legion’s technology allows her to fly and to travel through time, and she’s a skilled tactician and hand-to-hand combatant. One of the greatest heroes of her time, Saturn Girl leads one of the largest and most powerful teams in history, acting as moral guidance to young heroes who rightfully look to her for inspiration.